TikTok star Lena Mantler - She was raped by an older woman
As teenagers, the twins Lisa and Lena Mantler (22) became Web-Stars with their dance clips. Now they are going separate ways. While Lisa is happily expecting her first child with her husband, Lena has moved to New York. Among her 21 million followers, she recently posted an emotional statement, addressing the constant discussion about her sexuality and revealing that she was raped by an older woman in her youth.
"An older woman took advantage of me"
"I have never told anyone this before because I was ashamed," she says in the 20-minute English-language video, "because there are many who can't understand German. I was ashamed because I felt I should have stood up for myself ... but I couldn't." Further, she recounts: "I wanted to say something, but I didn't. An older woman took advantage of me. I was raped." She does not want sympathy with this revelation but wants to show that no one should be judged based on a story they don't know. Because she often wore oversized clothes, she was assumed to be lesbian. Now she explains the tragic reason why, at 17, she reached for the wide clothes: It was a protection after the traumatic experience.
"I had never thought about my sexuality before. I had a phase where I didn't wear oversized clothes but rather feminine clothes. But then I experienced being taken advantage of at a very young age. And that made me, in a way," she describes in the video with tears. After the rape, she didn't want to draw attention to herself with tight clothes: "I tried to hide myself."
Lena Mantler had never been in love
The rumors about her sexuality and the pressure to come out made things difficult for her. "I was only 17 and still figuring things out. But when everyone writes to you, 'You're lesbian,' you start to believe it." She carefully considered every word and every post to prevent people from misinterpreting anything. Moreover, the rumors had consequences for her private life: "That was a very hard time for me, because many people I grew up with suddenly turned their backs on me."
In the video, Lena Mantler also reveals that she had never been in love. In contrast to her sister, who married musician Jonas Jay in 2023, the 22-year-old announced her pregnancy on her official Instagram channel in June 2024: "Family of 3 loading," Lisa Mantler wrote alongside a picture of herself with her husband and baby bump.
The twins were adopted at the age of six months. From June 2015 onwards, they shared dance videos on the platform Musical.ly (now TikTok) and built up a massive fanbase. In August 2023, Lisa and Lena Mantler announced their professional separation on Instagram. "There are boy band breakups, and we have our boy band breakup too. We've been working together for so long that we sometimes forget we're only 21. Through all these experiences, our interests have developed so differently. We were a team, but we have different talents," the duo wrote on Instagram. Lena Mantler took over the successful Instagram account with 21 million followers.
- Lena Mantler, the TikTok star, revealed in a recent emotional statement that she was raped by an older woman in her youth.
- In her 20-minute English-language video, Lena Mantler from New York spoke about the traumatic experience that led her to wear oversized clothes to protect herself.
- Despite the constant discussion about her sexuality, Lena Mantler never told anyone about the rape until now, as she felt ashamed and didn't want to draw attention to herself.
- Lisa Mantler, Lena's twin sister, is currently expecting her first child with her husband, while Lena continues to engage with her 21 million followers on TikTok and Instagram.
- The Mantler twins, who were adopted at a young age, gained popularity on TikTok (formerly Musical.ly) and built a massive fanbase with their dance clips.
